Psalm 34:1-22 (New Living Translation)
Psalm 34
[a]A psalm of David, regarding the time he pretended to be insane in front of Abimelech, who sent him away.
1 I will praise the Lord at all times.
I will constantly speak his praises.
2 I will boast only in the Lord;
let all who are helpless take heart.
3 Come, let us tell of the Lord’s greatness;
let us exalt his name together. 4 I prayed to the Lord, and he answered me.
He freed me from all my fears.
5 Those who look to him for help will be radiant with joy;
no shadow of shame will darken their faces.
6 In my desperation I prayed, and the Lord listened;
he saved me from all my troubles.
7 For the angel of the Lord is a guard;
he surrounds and defends all who fear him.
8 Taste and see that the Lord is good.
Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him!
9 Fear the Lord, you his godly people,
for those who fear him will have all they need.
10 Even strong young lions sometimes go hungry,
but those who trust in the Lord will lack no good thing.
11 Come, my children, and listen to me,
and I will teach you to fear the Lord.
12 Does anyone want to live a life
that is long and prosperous?
13 Then keep your tongue from speaking evil
and your lips from telling lies!
14 Turn away from evil and do good.
Search for peace, and work to maintain it.
15 The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right;
his ears are open to their cries for help.
16 But the Lord turns his face against those who do evil;
he will erase their memory from the earth.
17 The Lord hears his people when they call to him for help.
He rescues them from all their troubles.
18 The Lord is close to the brokenhearted;
he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.
19 The righteous person faces many troubles,
but the Lord comes to the rescue each time.
20 For the Lord protects the bones of the righteous;
not one of them is broken!
21 Calamity will surely overtake the wicked,
and those who hate the righteous will be punished.
22 But the Lord will redeem those who serve him.
No one who takes refuge in him will be condemned.
Footnotes:
- Psalm 34:1 This psalm is a Hebrew acrostic poem; each verse begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
Scripture:
14 Turn away from evil and do good.
Search for peace, and work to maintain it.
17 The Lord hears his people when they call to him for help.
He rescues them from all their troubles.
18 The Lord is close to the brokenhearted;
he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.
19 The righteous person faces many troubles,
but the Lord comes to the rescue each time.
Application: So I am terrible at picking just one passage! I guess it is better to pick more than one than to not do it at all! So in 14, I have always known that we should turn away from evil, although I don’t think it’s just as simple as is sounds. I like that is says we have to search for peace and have to work to maintain it. I think we assume that once we accept Christ, it should just come to us. Bob is always sure to tell us that we have to work at our faith, that we will lose it if we get lazy. I think this passage points that out.
18 – If we do get lazy and don’t fight for our faith, we could end up in a bad place, but the bible says all is not lost, the Lord will rescue you still, you just have to ask!
17 and 19 – We also have to understand that the closer we get to God, the more challenges evil will give us, struggling to separate us from our faith. It is not an easy life necessarily that we will get even if we continue to live a Christian life. We will face challenges, sometimes just because we believe in and trust in God. If we do though, we can ask for help in those times and God will rescue us. What I take most from this is that we do have to ASK for the help. We have to choose to ask, help won’t come just because we are having a bad day, week, year. We need to ask and the accept the help that is given, even if it’s not the help we expected.
Prayer: Lord, please help me to hear Your voice. Please open my heart to Your word and encourage me to cry out to You in times of need – even if it’s just for a cup of milk! I need to trust and believe that You are in everything we do and to know that I can ask You for help at any time. Help me to recognize the evil and turn away from it, help me to listen to Your every command, and rescue me in times of need. In Your Name, Amen.